


Life In the Black

by scifiaddict86



Series: Duet [1]
Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003), Firefly
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-22
Updated: 2010-07-23
Packaged: 2017-10-10 18:17:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/102655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scifiaddict86/pseuds/scifiaddict86
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Mal hires Kara Thrace and Sam Anders to be his new pilots and goes out an what seems to be a simple mission things get a lot more complicated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note this reflects the current Firefly canon but I'm changing bits and peices of BSG's

He had waited as long as he could, but Mal had decided it was time to find Serenity a new pilot. River was great, but she wasn't completely reliable, and he thought she would be more useful out on jobs than stuck back on the ship. He put out a few feelers with some friends and associates, borrowed Kaylee's barkerchair, parked himself just outside the cargo bay at the Eavesdown docks, and waited for a pilot to show up. River waited in the shadows. She was paying close attention, but she didn't want to be seen; even after Miranda, there was still a pretty high price on her head. Jayne leaned against the opening of the hatch, trimming his fingernails with a knife and menacing anyone who passed by. Mal wasn't sure if he was giving the wrong impression about the ship or the right one. Inara had gone to acquire a few supplies and Zoe had jumped at the chance to come with her. Shopping had never been her thing, but Mal understood that choosing her husband's replacement wasn't a duty she wanted to be part of. Simon and Kaylee seemed to be taking advantage of the privacy this opportunity offered, but Mal didn't really want to think on that so he turned his attention to the task at hand.

The first guy to show up was recommended by Badger. If that wasn't bad enough, he had shaky credentials. He certainly was not someone Mal would employ to scrub his floors let alone guide Serenity along her path. The next two were decent enough folks with good credentials but had such defects in the personality department that Mal couldn't see spending an hour with them let alone making them family. The fourth guy to show was actually an old colleague of Wash's, and Mal thought things were looking up until the slick, tall, dark man revealed he was only there to "see if that sweet assed wife of Hoban's needed some consoling".

After Mal had Jayne throw his ass halfway down the docks, he sighed and wondered if he might have better luck on Boros. It was then Mal saw them; he was tall, dark, and dark-haired. He was easily as big as Jayne. Mal noticed he wore an old, black, leather jacket with a even older pair of jeans, but it was the way he moved that caught Mal's notice. He was confident and had an ease about him even here, in what most would consider dangerous territory. He didn't stomp around challenging everything around him like Jayne did, but Mal suspected he wasn't someone to mess with. He only saw her once, they fully stepped out of the crowd. She swaggered and strode about like someone on a mission, tossing her shoulder length blond hair, calling back to him to hurry up. Her red t-shirt stood out as much as her battered khaki pants blended in. The man turned, and Mal noticed the large duffel strapped to his back. Mal realized they were heading his way and stood up, almost grinning. People who swaggered like that had to be pilots and good ones too, he'd bet.

She stopped dead in front of him and said "You the one looking for a pilot?"

"Yeah," Mal started.

"Good," the blond cut across him. "You want us, or at least you want me and get him as part of the bargain."

"Is that so?" Mal replied, raising his eyebrows, unsure if he was impressed or annoyed.

The man beside her seemed to pick up Mal's tone, stuck his hand out and smiled in a friendly manner. "I'm Sam Anders and this is my wife, Kara Thrace. We were hoping to join your crew," he said.

Mal shook the man's hand slowly, deciding. "I am still looking for a pilot, but I don't really need two, and I would like to some references and credentials before I decide who I want to employ."

The pair exchanged a look that Mal couldn't quite decode, and Kara spoke. "We don't have much in terms of official creds. but we were hoping the fact that we flew as part of Red squad with the independents might mean something to you."

Mal nodded and tried not give away the fact that, that info impressed the hell out of him. Red squad was the most elite wing of fighter pilots the Independents had. "And references?"

They exchanged another look, and this time, Mal understood it perfectly. They were desperate.

"We don't really have much of those either. We've spent most of the time since the war pretending to be farmers , and we had misunderstanding with out last employer," Kara responded.

Mal narrowed his eyes. "What kind of misunderstanding?"

Kara replied evenly, "He seemed to think that his pilots were his property as much as the ship was. I objected to that."

Mal realized he was starting to like this girl. "If I wave him, is he gonna give me a story about how you made off with any number of cash and valuables?"

Sam responded darkly. "He might have trouble with that. Apparently, he had a terrible accident after we left."

"But Bullard wouldn't have anything worth stealing even if we did pull that sort of thing," Kara added defensively.

Mal knew Bullard and figured the story was probably true. The girl was attractive, and he knew Bullard wasn't the type to care if she was married or even uninterested in him. Still, he felt these two might prove a little to good to be true. He wanted to be sure they were on the level before he hired them. He decided to push them a little. "I don't know. Bullard always seemed like a fair enough fellow to me, and I don't really need two pilots..." Mal trailed off, hoping their desperation might lead to a little more honesty.

"Look, we really need this. We thought you might understand. No one wants to go near former Browncoats unless it's to pick up scraps. We might as well have spent the war working in a brothel for all anyone cares about red squad. The guy who told us about this job said you fought with the Independents. We hoped you would respect what we did," Kara replied.

Mal thought on that for moment. He didn't really doubt that these two were lying about their flight skills, and it wasn't like the rest of the crew had completely unblemished pasts. He liked these two well enough, and truthfully, he knew he could never leave two fellow Browncoats behind. He looked back to River, trusting her instincts more than any kind of creds out there. When she simply smiled and nodded, he turned back to the two expectant pilots. "How about this: you can help us make this run to Boros, and if it doesn't work out, you can get off there."

They grinned. "Sure," Kara replied, before turning and stealing a kiss from her husband.

Jayne walked up right then and took a long, slow look at the newcomers, obviously sizing them up. Mal decided this would be a good time to start making introductions. "Jayne, this here is our new pilots, Kara Thrace and Sam Anders. Guys, this is Jayne. He's another member of our crew."

Jayne leered at Kara and shook her hand. "It's always nice to meet new people, especially if they're as easy on the eyes as you."

Sam moved out from behind Kara and shook Jayne's hand as well. "What are you, her bag boy?" Jayne sneered.

Sam just grinned and replied, "I'm her husband."

Jayne drew himself up to his full height and moved in just a little bit closer, but Sam stood his ground. Mal decided to intervene before Jayne decided to try pissing on him. "Why don't we go see the rest of the ship and crew?" he said, gesturing that they should step inside.

River floated over as they walked up the hatch door. Tilting her head slightly and smiling in that way of hers, she said "I'm River. I'm the local albatross." It seemed like she knew all the secrets of the 'verse.

Kara smiled and looked slightly puzzled. Something passed over Sam's face that Mal didn't quite catch, but he smiled as well and said, "Nice to meet you," in a friendly enough manner.

Mal started to play tour guide. "This is the cargo hold. It's fairly self-explanatory." He walked over to the guest quarters and opened the door to an empty cabin. "You can put your stuff in there for now. We only got one open bunk in crew quarters right now."

Sam dropped the duffel, and Mal noticed a nasty scar on his neck. "This looks great," Kara said politely.

"We're a pretty small and informal crew," Mal continued, walking through the rec room to take the back stairs to the engine room. "You met Jayne and River already. Of course, we also have Zoe, the first mate, Simon the Doc, Kaylee our mechanic, and Inara who is currently a passenger." He rounded the corner and turned towards the engine room where he found a rather unexpected sight: Kaylee and Simon wrapped in each others arms, and decidedly unclothed. Mal felt the blood rush to his head. "Kaywinnet Leigh Frye, what in the Gorram hell did I tell you about doing this here?"

Kaylee and Simon both grabbed at whatever piece of clothing was nearest to them and scrambled to cover themselves. Simon stammered, "Ss-sorry Captain, we didn't hear you coming."

Mal was still severely annoyed. "Well, you shouldn't even be doing that here. You both have bunks. Use 'em!"

He then heard a snicker behind him and remembered why he was here. "Well, this isn't how I pictured doing this, but Kaylee and Simon, meet Kara and Sam, our new pilots."

"Hi," Kaylee chirped, not in the least bit embarrassed.

"Hello," Simon said shyly.

"Nice to meet you," Sam said, grinning.

"Yeah, its um, great," Kara said, clearly trying not to laugh.

Mal led them out of the engine room and up into the kitchen, still shaking his head. "This is the kitchen. We all eat here at set meal times. We'll have dinner as soon as Inara and Zoe make it back with fresh supplies."

"And here we have the cockpit. I assume you'll want to familiarize yourself with this area pretty well soon enough. I have to wave someone about a job so why don't you go get settled in your bunk and I'll give you a shout when it's all settled," Mal said.

"Sure," Kara said, and she and Sam headed out.

Mal stood in the cockpit for a minute it felt like something was off about the place, before shaking off the feeling as superstitious and turning to the veiwscreen to wave Carrow.

Back in their quarters, Kara and Sam started to laugh about what they had seen in the engine room. "We might fit in here after all," Sam joked.

Kara opened their duffel and took out the idols, settling them on a nearby ledge. She smiled and turned to Sam. "Remember the time Roslin found us back up in the woods on New Caprica?" She reached up and kissed him just thing were starting to get interesting they were interrupted.

"Hi," River said, sticking her head into their room. "I just wanted to tell you, you don't have to worry about your secret. Mal only thinks he's mean."

River then left as quickly as she came, leaving the two pilots wondering precisely which secret she was talking about.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: not mine don't sue I own nothing worth your while anyway

Chapter 2

Mal finished his wave and turned around to see Zoe standing just inside the door. "Sir, we got what we needed from town, and Inara even insisted on a few extras."

"That's good. I think I got what we needed as well," Mal replied carefully.

"They any good?" Zoe questioned.

"Flew with Red Squad back when..." Mal replied.

"They got other qualifications?" Zoe asked. "'Cause the whole Red Squad thing is hard to verify given what happened."

"Not really," Mal shrugged. "But once you meet them, you'll understand why I don't doubt their story."

"Wait a second...'their'?" Zoe wondered.

"Yeah, they're a husband and wife. Came as a package. I figured it was a bonus as much as anything," Mal said.

"Okay." Zoe looked skeptical. "They got references?"

"They used to work for Bullard," Mal answered.

Zoe's eyebrows shot up another half inch. "Please tell me they weren't the ones who shot him."

Mal leaned forward. "The way they tell it, he tripped and fell on the bullet."

Zoe put her hand on her hip. "According to the guy I talked to today, your pilot caught Bullard getting a little too friendly with his wife and shot him for his trouble."

"Bullard has a habit of getting too friendly with all his employees. Everyone knows that it was only a matter of time 'fore someone shot him for it. I think it's a good sign that these two told the truth about what happened," Mal said defensively. "Besides, I told them this is just a trial, and there ain't really a way for them to cause trouble between here and Boros."

"I can think of several ways that statement could be proven wrong sir. Hell, I could think of several examples of that being proven wrong, but I agreed to trust your judgment on this one so I guess I'll just have to wait and see."

Mal stood up, smiling. "That's all I'm asking."

"I'm gonna go double check with Kaylee that we're all clear to leave. Carrow's making the drop soon, right?" Zoe asked.

"Yeah, he'll be here shortly. I was just going to check on the cortex to see if there was anything interesting on the news wave," Mal said, gesturing to the console.

"I'll leave you to it then," Zoe said, and then left the bridge.

When Mal turned back to the console, he realized what was missing. Wash's dinosaurs were gone. Zoe must have removed them.

That night at dinner, Mal found himself studying his new pilots from his seat at the head of the table. They seemed happy. He supposed nervousness was to be expected, but there was something there he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"So how exactly did you two find out about this job?" Zoe asked, clearly not the only one who was wondering about these two.

"A friend of ours, Karl Agathon, works for Lord Carrow. He mentioned it," Sam answered

"So you know we're hauling valuables to Boros then?" Zoe fired back.

"Karl mentioned it," Kara said evenly, clearly picking up on Zoe's tone. "I suspect he just saw it as the fastest way to get us off his couch."

"So how'd you two meet?" Kaylee broke in cheerfully. Mal almost smiled at Kaylee's typically transparent move.

"We were on Atlantia when it was occupied. I got stranded, and he was part of the resistance. We actually almost shot each other before we figured out we were on the same side," Kara drawled, smiling sideways at Sam.

"Ah, what a tragedy that would have been," Sam said jokingly, but something in his face gave away the fact that he meant it.

"Yeah, your ass could still be back there frying without me," Kara shot back teasingly. Mal did grin now. In fact, most of the table did. The new pilots were like magnets drawing them all in. Despite the banter, it was also obvious that their strongest pull was towards each other.

"Atlantia is a Black Rock now, isn't it?" Zoe asked, just slightly more relaxed than before.

Sam turned towards Zoe, serious now. "Yeah, we were never sure how, but the Alliance managed to mess with the terraforming before they pulled out."

Inara looked surprised. "I thought that was supposed to have been an accident."

"Yeah, just like Miranda," Kara snarked. The name of that graveyard of a world hung in the air like a ghost for a minute, and the table was silent.

"What do you do Inara? When you're not traveling, I mean?" Kara questioned, tilting her head towards Inara like she was curious.

"I am a Companion, but I was working at a training house until recently," Inara replied with her usual pride.

"Oh," Kara replied, clearly unsure of what to say. Sam looked extremely uncomfortable.

Kaylee piped up with, "She's our ambassador. She helps us look more respectable to the Alliance."

"It's just not something well thought of by the priests back home," Kara said coolly, but she dryly added, "Although it does say something about the Alliances priorities doesn't it? That sex is a respectable commodity?"

Mal choked on his tea, but the rest of the table laughed. He watched as Zoe's face lit up for the first time in far too long and thought it might just be worth it to keep these two around for as long as they could make Zoe laugh.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next morning when Mal got up he was almost surprised to see the tall figure sitting in what was usually his seat in the cockpit. It took him a moment to remember that it was Sam. Since Kara had taken them out of Persephone's atmo and done it well, he hadn't seen what Sam could do, and he wanted to be sure that Sam wasn't about to fly them into a moon. Besides, if they stayed, it wouldn't help to get to know him a little better. It never hurt to know the folk who had your back, 'cept if they was Jayne a course.

"Mornin'," Mal called out.

Sam jerked a little in surprise before turning in his chair. "Hey," he responded, fiddling with a console.

"You don't have to look busy on account of me," Mal said smiling.

"I'm just trying to make sure I know how everything works. I'd rather figure it out now than when we're in a tight spot," Sam said.

"I guess this would be a fair bit different then a fighter's cockpit," Mal said, sitting on the arm of what had been Wash's seat.

"Well, that and the left-handed thing tends to make it a bit more complicated as well," Sam said, smiling slightly. "There were a couple of mishaps in flight school that I'm sure Kara would be glad to fill you in on."

"As a fellow lefty, I understand," Mal drawled. "Heck, I've got a few of those myself." He almost smiled at the memory and then asked, "You and Kara go to flight school together?"

"No," Sam replied. "Kara was the career pilot. I just joined up when they got desperate."

"After the Alliance pulled out of Atlantia?" Mal asked, shifting slightly uncomfortably on the arm of the chair.

Sam toyed with the long range scanners. "Yeah we met up with the cruiser Alpha a week after we left. Kara came looking for me."

Mal wondered for a moment where his other pilot was before Sam added, "Kara's sleeping in. We haven't had a decent bed since we left home. I thought it would be a good idea for her to catch up on some sleep. She is a lot more fun when she's well rested."

Sam turned back to make a correction on the autopilot before adding, "I also wanted to have a chance to look things over without Kara looking over my shoulder. She was a flight instructor part of her career and she still doesn't like to hear that her way of doing things isn't the only way."

Mal grinned back for a moment then suddenly, a console beeped.

"We're getting a wave," Sam said, looking around at the various consoles. "I think." He flipped the com switch on, and a woman's face came into view. The feed was garbled, but Mal recognized the face instantly; it was Saffron. The interference made it hard to hear anything in particular she was saying, but the one word he did make out was "Help".

Sam, not seeing his shock, supplied, "It's a general distress call, and I got a set of co-ordinates here. It's close." He started to lay in a course before seeming to remember that Mal was supposed to be the boss. "We should lay in a course, right?"

Mal was too shocked to be irritated at Sam for not making the call for him. He simply nodded and grabbed the mic for a shipwide call to tell everyone to meet in cargo hold for a rescue op. Then, he turned and headed to his bunk. If they were going to be dealing with Saffron, he was going to need a few more guns.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Mal charged down to the cargo bay where the entire crew had assembled. Jayne and Zoe were debating about putting on space suits when they heard him coming down the stairs.

"What's the deal here Cap'n?" Jayne asked.

"I told you, we got a wave about a ship in trouble. It looks like there's something wrong with their engine." Sam protested..

He had been helping Kaylee and his wife assemble Serenity's two stretchers. The Doc and Inara sorted out medical supplies with River who was apparently supplying commentary.

"No body asked you, new boy," Jayne snarled.

"It's Saffron," Mal said simply, as if it explained everything.

"Who?" Kara asked.

"My former wife and one of the best con artists alive," Mal said, grabbing a suit from Jayne. "I still want you guys to keep getting the gear out, and me, Zoe, and the Doc will put on our suits. I fully expect this to be a trap of some sort." He looked around. "Shouldn't one of you be flying my ship?" he asked the new pilots.

"It's on auto-pilot for the moment. We still got an hour before we'll be at the ship," Sam answered, clicking together two pieces of frame from the stretchers.

Kara looked skeptical. "If you're so certain this is a trap, why in the hell are we bothering?"

Mal awkwardly put down the suit he was holding before he answered. "Because there is still a chance she may actually need our help. Besides, it's probable that whoever owns that ship she's on does need our help."

Kara still looked skeptical, but she didn't seem to have a retort so he considered the matter dropped. "Jayne, Sam come help me move the cargo in to the hold" he called out.

"Why for" Jayne complained pulling out one of the wall panels.

"Cuz its valuable, and I intend to rescue those folk not provide them with a crime of opportunity" he said through gritted teeth as he and Sam lifted the heavy crate over to the hold.

"I guess all the riots going on right now have Carrow worried" Sam said shoving the crate into the hold.

"I still don't get why this stuff is worth that much its just furniture":Jayne said perplexed as he picked up on of the smaller crates.

"It very very old furniture" Mal clarified. Realizing the rest wouldn't fit in the one spot he and Jayne started moving the rest if the stuff into another spot with Sam helping. Soon enough the proximity sensor went off and Kara and Sam went of to the bridge and he followed. Kara was docking the ship, something she apparently had more experience with.

"Landing were never your strong suit, Longshot," she snarked at her husband.

"Well, not all of us have had a few thousand of them like Starbuck," Sam drawled back. "At least I never got a stack of discipline notices."

Kara snorted. "Yeah, but how long would that have lasted, had you spent more than five minutes in the actual military?"

"Can we quit with the chit chat and actually fly my ship?" Mal broke in as Kara veered a little farther left than he was comfortable with.

"Don't worry, I've done plenty of doughnut runs in my day Captain," Kara replied. She righted the ship and a few seconds later, it shuddered as Mal felt the hard dock. He went down the catwalk to Kaylee who was finishing mating the airlocks. Since they had been unable to communicate with the ship thus far, he was going on faith that they were hurt real bad. "There's atmo on the other side" Kaylee said backing off.

Jayne opened the airlock doors, and a man in nice suit stepped through them. "This your whole crew?" he asked.

Mal was slightly confused, but looked around and nodded yes when he realized the whole crew was there.

"Good," the man sneered.

Mal had just enough time to realize what the spiky thing in his hand was before everything went black.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 6

When Mal woke up, he realized he was in lying in Simon's bed. Inara was sitting in the corner beside the door with a mark on her face. "You alright?" he asked, sitting up.

She nodded, then added "Everyone else is too. With the exceptions of a few bumps and bruises, we're all in the various passenger bunks with the doors locked. From the sound of things, whoever is out there is tearing the ship apart, looking for something."

Mal got up, and started banging on the door. "Hey, whatever you want, you ain't gonna get it. This ship's got hiding spots even I don't know about!"

The door slid open, and a tough looking man opened up. He was close enough for Mal to see that he had steel blue eyes. A blond man stepped up behind him and pulled Mal out of the room. "If we can't find it without you, then you'll just have to help us," he said.

"Why would I do that?" Mal asked.

"For one, the Lassiter is a rare prize not many can afford so it's probably gathering dust on this heap," he replied.

"So I'm just supposed to believe that if I give you the biggest score I ever made, you'll just leave?" Mal snarked.

"No, but Mary told us what would make you give it up." He motioned to one of the guys on Mal. "Bring one of the girls."

One of the guys holding Mal went into the nearest cabin, but his buddy called out, "Not the whore. They're too slippery." So he went to the next one and pulled out Kara. "Mary gave us your weakness when she told us about the Lassiter...about how wonderful you are to your crew." Blue eyes nodded at the other man, and he reached out and smacked Kara fast and hard so that she fell backwards on to the deck.

Mal swore, "She ain't part of my crew, just ask whoever the hell Mary is. She's just a passenger I don't give a lick about."

Kara was getting up. "Don't worry Captain, I've been captured before." She started to pull herself up onto all fours, but her guard turned to face her, and reared back as if to kick her before she could fully get up. Kara was faster then him though. She jumped up, and Mal heard the guard make a gurgling sound. His guard fired off a shot, but his partner was between him and Kara, and he took the hit instead. Kara had her guard's gun and shot the other one before he could fire another shot. "Ever since, I've carried a knife in my boot," she finished as the stabbed man fell in front of her.

Mal stared for a moment before getting up. Unfortunately, the rest of the crew was padlocked into the bunk and wouldn't be getting out soon anyway. They said they'd be back and headed for the stairs. The gunshot had been loud but sound had a habit of bouncing around oddly in the passenger bunks. The guy in the cargo bay seemed intent on tearing the place apart. Mal suspected whoever was in charge wasn't doing dirty work so he led Kara up the stairs. There was no one in the engine room, but Mal saw someone moving in the bridge. They moved stealthily through the kitchen and ducked into the alcove outside crew quarters, which were unfortunately locked. Mal could now fully see who was on the bridge. The man who had first walked on to Serenity was talking on the monitor. Mal could see the face. It was familiar, but Mal couldn't place it. He said, "Dong ma," and then turned off the monitor. He and Saffron turned to face each other, and Mal was shocked that Saffron was in chains with her wrists bound to her ankles. He was even more surprised by what the man said next. "Well my dear sister, it looks like you might actually be useful to this family after all. If we can sell this sucker we found the Lassiter, we will be richer than our feckless father ever dreamed."

Saffron smiled, and it sent a chill down Mal's spine. "It will be wonderful to help the assholes who turned me out at age eleven," she quipped.

Her brother backhanded her. "Obviously, that fancy whore academy never taught you any respect." He walked down a step so he could yell down the stairs. "Warner, what the hell is taking so long?"

Mal decided it was now or never. He stormed onto the bridge moving fast enough that Saffron's brother never had time to draw his weapon. "You are going to take your men and get off my boat or I will riddle all you with holes," Mal said.

"Alright, alright," he said, putting up his hands as Mal walked him down the first flight of stairs. Kara had her gun trained on Saffron and followed.

"I don't see why you don't just give us the Lassiter, though. It's worthless without our buyer," he said, as they made their way out onto the catwalk. Suddenly, he moved, and Mal was blinded by pain as he flew off the cat walk onto the deck below. Luckily, he had fallen on the stretcher. It broke his fall and collapsed, but he didn't break any bones. Kara, however, was now caught halfway across the catwalk with the other two menacing at her and a third at the bottom the other stairs. Kara backed away quickly and Saffron and her brother did the same. Mal saw the mook's gun lying nearby, but he wasn't sure he could reach it in time. It had landed near the stairs closest to Saffron and her brother. Mal scrambled to his feet and headed for the gun but froze when he heard a shot ring out. He looked up and saw Saffron had the gun in her hands and was pointing it at her brother. He looked over and realized she had kneecapped the man who had been searching Serenity. She said slowly, "Joey, you will leave this ship. You will leave me here. You will go and never come back."

Joey looked shocked. "Come on Mary, I'm your brother."

Her voice shook slightly. "I know. That's why you're walking off this boat." She waved her gun in the direction of the door and shouted, "Now, go!" Joey grabbed his man and helped him limp to the door, slamming it behind him.

"Now could you give me the gun please?" Mal asked as soon as the door was closed.

Saffron turned back to him. "You don't trust me, Honey?" she chirped, turning on her charms.

Mal grinned but said "Not by a longshot, but you might earn some by giving me the gun."

Reluctantly, she handed it over. Mal took it, reached out, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you. Now I'm gonna lock you in crew quarters until I get the rest of the crew out of the bunks, okay dear?"

Kara muttered under her breath. "And I though my marriage was weird..."

Mal turned around and called out to Kara. "Can you go to the engine room and grab something to cut those locks?"

She was already halfway across the rec room when she called back. "Already on it, Captain."

He turned Saffron/Bridget/Yolanda/Mary and started marching her towards the spare bunk.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Not mine Don't Sue

Chapter 6 Mal dropped a sack of food down into the bunk where they were holding Saffron and went down the ladder behind it. She looked up at him, still in chains, and asked, "So whatcha gonna do with me?"

"Well now, that depends on you," Mal drawled.

Saffron cocked her head to the side, and Mal continued. "The Lassiter is still on board, and if you would be willing to give us the way to contact your buyer, I'll sell it, give you twenty five percent, and leave you at the nearest settlement."

"And if I don't give you my buyer?" Saffron vamped.

"Then we could either leave you naked on the nearest moon, or you could try and escape and Jayne could shoot you right here." He paused while Jayne cocked his very favorite gun at the top of the ladder. "It s your choice," Mal finished.

"Well, then you got something to write down this guy s comm number?" she asked, and for the first time, Mal saw how defeated she seemed now. She was trying to cover it, but Mal could see she seemed smaller, somehow than she had been. He handed her a scrap of paper and a pencil.

"So that was your brother?" He asked, conversationally.

"Yes," she answered, reservedly.

"I think I see now why you have such a low opinion of family if he's your prime example."

Saffron started writing. "Joey is a product of my father just as I am," she answered enigmatically.

"There are rations here in the bag. We'll holler when we've got the cash," Mal said awkwardly.

"Here you go," she said, handing him the paper and pencil.

Up in the kitchen, the crew had all gathered to start picking up the mess left by the thugs. The new arrivals had a few questions."Exactly what is the deal here? Is she really the Captain's wife?" Sam asked as he examined the bruises on his wife s face.

"Sort of," Zoe replied, picking up debris.

"Sam, I'm fine." Kara shrugged him off, irritated. "But what exactly is going on here?"

Simon looked around the room before he answered. "Awhile ago, we did a job on Triumph, and Saffron stowed away and claimed to have married Mal as part of the payment. It turned out she just wanted to turn Serenity over to some associates of hers for parts and tried to kill us in the process. A couple of months later, we ran into her again, and this time she promised the biggest score we'd ever seen in the form of the Lassiter, a priceless antique weapon. The job was completed, but when Saffron tried to double cross us, we were forced to leave her behind. While we managed to escape with the Lassiter, we couldn't fence it without Saffron's contacts, and it has sat collecting dust on the ship ever since."

Kara blinked and said, "Wow, so this Saffron is a con-artist?"

"One of the best I ever seen," Jayne said, walking up the stairs from crew quarters with Vera.

"So we're trusting her because?" Sam asked from beside his wife.

"She got us the Lassiter before, and I suspect the Captain has a plan to stay one step ahead of her," Kaylee said from the stove.

"I wouldn't count any money just yet Mei-mei. Saffron has more tricks than a Shinon show pony," Inara cautioned.

"Saffron has nothing to gain from screwing us over without incentive. She doesn't hurt. It s her only value," River said.

"Well, I suppose you guys would know better than we would," Sam said

Inara smiled warmly and said "Don't worry, the Captain has a talent for getting into terrible scrapes and then getting out of them again. We all trust him for a reason after all"

"We've just been on our own for so long. It s a little weird to be counting on someone else. Out here in the black, that seems to be pretty dangerous," Kara explained softly.

Simon smiled kindly. "I know how you feel, but we operate a little differently than most out here in the black. We're a family, and while you fly with us, you re a part of that."

"Good to know," Kara replied she relaxed slightly but it was obvious she wasn't completely convinced. Sam looked around the room slowly not challenging but still somehow sizing everyone up.

"If you re done speechifying, Doc, how about we play cards?" Jayne broke in.

Mal was amazed at how smoothly things went from there on out. He made the call, met the man, and received the biggest payment of his life without any hassle. Saffron even stayed put, and before Mal knew it, he was dropping her on a nearby moon with a large sack of cash. "It s a fair take, but you re welcome to count it if you want," Mal said as he removed her shackles.

Saffron just smiled. "It s okay Mal. I trust you," she said before she swung the bag onto her back and walked away.

Mal stood there for moment and watched her walk away before turning around and turning his mind back to getting the ship to Boros.


	7. Chapter 7

As soon as they came within wave range of Boros, Mal told Sam to fire up the transmitter. Thankfully, the drop for the Lassiter was on the way so with some quick piloting tricks from their new pilots, they were right on time. However, when the picture came on the screen, his spirits sank considerably. He recognized it immediately, not just because this man looked a good deal like his brother Lord Carrow, but because this was the man who Saffron's brother was talking to before Mal snuck up behind him with a gun. While Mal knew talking to Joe didn't necessarily mean this man was out to get Serenity, and there could be a hundred reasons for the call, it made him raise his guard.

"Hello Captain Reynolds,"Alfred Carrow drawled. "I am truly surprised to see you since last I heard you, were moments away from being dead."

Mal's heart sank. He had been so glad when he had gotten the call about this job and hoped that Carrow's people would turn into regular contacts. Now it looked like they had set him up. "Well, we came to do the job you contacted us for, but right now I'm thinkin' that we should just keep the goods and call it even."

Alfred Carrow smirked and any resemblance to his kindly brother disappeared. "Actually, I'm thinking I'll get my goods and the Lassiter too, since I already told my good friends in the Alliance military about your arrival. They're real anxious to talk to you and get back my stolen property."

Mal didn't even reply. He just cut the com link. "We have three alliance cruisers closing Captain," Sam said evenly.

Mal stood there for a second, wondering how it had gone to hell so quickly, before he asked softly, "Do we have time to outrun them?"

Sam was looking at a map on another monitor. He turned and shook his head. "No, but I have an idea."

"Do it. I don't care what it is, but I am not going to prison over cargo I didn't even damn well steal," Mal directed.

Sam turned the ship about so quickly that Mal had to grab the console to keep from kissing the deck. "Well, let's just say I did my maneuvers training in an asteroid field," Sam quipped.

As a grouping of rather large rocks loomed in the window, Mal grabbed the handset and sent out a ship-wide call. "We're about to engage in some rapid maneuvers, so anyone not on the bridge should be strapping themselves in." Mal looked out the viewer and realized it wasn't so much an asteroid field but rather debris from a mining operation on a nearby planetoid. The Alliance ships were a lot bigger than Serenity and much less maneuverable. "Those ships are only a few thousand clicks behind us. You really better be sure about this," Mal threatened.

Naturally, Mal's call brought everyone to the bridge just as the ship shook, and they crossed into the debris field. "What exactly are we doing now?" Zoe asked, coming up the ladder in front of the bridge.

"Move, please," Sam said to Zoe simply.

As she walked up, Sam ducked under the the first big rock, and she bent her knees and grabbed the railing. Jayne and Kara staggered up the stairs from the kitchen with the Tams and Inara behind them.

"Carrow sold us out. The feds are on our tail, and we're ducking into this debris field to avoid them," Mal barked, sitting down in his chair and grabbing for his seatbelt as the next big rock loomed in the window.

"Okay," Jayne said as he nodded and turned back to the kitchen. Inara and River followed.

There was a loud noise, and Mal looked at the monitor and grinned. "That was one of them," he announced. Then he quickly added, "Simon, I need you to go to the engine room and tell Kaylee to prep for a hard burn. Then get her to strap herself in too."

Simon left, but Kara was still there. "Kara, if you want to stay on this crew, you'll follow my orders. Now go. You can't do anything here."

Kara stepped forward and grabbed Sam's shoulder. "But..." she started.

Sam cut across her. "Kara, go. I got this."

They swerved again and Kara turned and left the bridge. A few seconds later, there was a loud bang and this time, it had connected with Serenity.

"Watch it," Mal snapped.

"Sorry, didn't see that one," Sam quipped.

The debris was thicker now that they were near the center of the field, and it felt like they were on a roller coaster as they swerved and ducked. The ship also rattled slightly from all the little bits they were chewing through. Mal was disappointed, though, when he checked and saw the Alliance still on their tail. Then, suddenly, one simply disappeared from the monitor. There wasn't an explosion though. Mal tapped the console and saw that the ship was still intact, but its power seemed to be knocked out. "There goes another one," Mal crowed, and this time Sam was the one who smiled.

The rocks started to thin out a few moments later, but there was still one Serenity-sized rock between them and the other side. Sam pulled in to it as close as he could without attracting it, and Mal held his breath. Then, Sam kicked it into a hard burn, and a few seconds later, Mal saw the other cruiser clip the side of the rock with its wing and swing right into the tail end of the rock. "We're all clear," Mal shouted, taking off his seat belt and jumping up. Sam tapped a few buttons, laying in a course as far from the Alliance as possible. Then, he dropped the control stick, leaned back, and sighed. Zoe smiled and said, "Even my husband would have to admit that was good piloting."

Kara came bounding up the stairs with the rest of the crew behind her. Sam turned in his chair to face her, and she jumped in his lap. Without saying a word, she kissed him and didn't stop.

Inara raised an eyebrow and turned to Mal. "So we survived another scrape?"

"It seems our luck, such as it is, is holding for another day," Mal replied.

"So now what?" Jayne demanded.

"Now I have to make a call so all of yous need to get out." He turned and glared at Sam and Kara still necking. "Especially you two," he growled, nudging them to get their attention.

The truth was Mal wasn't totally sure what to do, so after everyone cleared out, he sat for a moment and breathed, wanting to make his next move with a clear head. After a moment, he gave up and fired up the transmitter, still pissed as all hell. But something was niggling at him. When Lord Carrow's face came on the screen, he leaned forward onto the console. Mal spoke first. "Hello, I just had a very interesting conversation with your brother. Seems he decided to sell us out to some scavengers and then to the feds. I just wanted to know why you, who claim to be a man of honor, would go along with such a scheme?"

The look on Carrow's face was pure shock. "Captain, you have to believe me. I had no idea."

Mal heard someone ask from off-screen, "Is everyone okay?"

Carrow nodded and repeated, "Yes, I truly hope everyone on your ship survived the day's events unscathed."

"We're mostly okay. One of my new pilots got worked over though," Mal said tersely, wanting to guilt Carrow and make him realize he had hurt people.

A man stepped up beside Carrow and asked, "Was it Kara or Sam? Are they okay?"

Carrow looked confusedly at the tall man beside him, and then looked back to Mal and stammered, "Yes, are they going to recover?"

"She'll be alright, but what do you care? You sold us out. What did you think those scavengers were going to do? Serve us tea?" Mal accused.

"I care," the tall man said. "Kara is one of my oldest friends. She's godmother to my daughter, and I was the one who told her about the job."

"Yes," Carrow proclaimed triumphantly. "I was the one who mentioned to Mr. Agathon that you were looking for a pilot, wasn't I, Karl?" He nudged Karl and grinned.

Karl nodded. "Yes, he did, and I would never send two of my oldest friends into trouble like that. You can ask them if you want."

Mal felt relieved and cracked a smile. "Well, then I guess we just need to discuss what to do with the cargo then."

Carrow frowned. "Well, it seems I don't have the option of the family safe on Boros, and I don't think it's safe here on Persephone anymore. "He brightened and said, "Perhaps the safest place for it is on your ship, Captain Reynolds."

Mal chuckled. "We've got the room for it, if that's what you think will work. We would have to work something out in terms of rent, but I've got no objection to the idea."

Carrow nodded. "Well, you have certainly proven yourself trustworthy. I just wish I could say the same of my family," he faltered. Mal felt sorry for the man. "I will have a talk with him. You can be assured of that, sir."

"I am honored by your trust," Mal said and meant it. "I might not be back to Persephone for awhile, but I'll wave when I am. We can settle up then."

"Well, since you already have my partial payment, I can assume that will cover the first month's rent at least? And can I also assume there will be no more aspersions cast about my honor?" Carrow chided.

"Never again. I'll talk to you when I'm back in your world," Mal replied.

"See that you do," Carrow said and terminated the wave. With that, Mal shook his head and walked off the bridge thinking what a good day it had been.


	8. Chapter 8

Late that night on Serenity Sam woke up to see his wife sitting up in bed just staring into space. You have a rough sleep? he asked.

"No, she answered, shaking her head. Do you feel guilty?" she blurted. About leaving the colony? she added when he seemed confused.

"I don t know," Sam shrugged. I don t see what we could have done to help the situation. Hell, if anything our marriage seemed to be making things worse rather than calming them down.

Kara sighed and toyed with her hands." I just feel like I abandoned my post."

Sam propped his head up on his elbow. "What post?" he asked rhetorically. "The Alliance stole the Galactica when they dumped us on that planet and took all the vipers with them. The Colonial Fleet is now the property of the Alliance. Along with any poor souls from the Fleet they feel can help discover the secret of FTL. It s now their job to protect our people. I figure it s the least they can do, all things considered."

Kara grimaced. While it still pricked her conscience a little, she hated to admit that he had a point. Her heart panged a little when she thought of the Old Man, the Chief and all the others taken by the Alliance. She turned and smiled down at him. "I just have trouble leaving anyone behind."

Sam sat up, kissed her and turned so he pulled her into his arms from behind. "I will always be grateful for that, but humans and cylons have been fighting since Kobol. The Alliance dumping them together on the same planet with little more than the clothes on their backs couldn't make them work together. I doubt we could have done anything about it. And honestly, I am sick to death of all that mess anyway. I played God once, and billions of people died because of it. I won t make that mistake again."

She settled in closer. "Is it weird that this place feels like a home to me?"

"Yes," Sam teased, "but this is a weird 'verse, and I think this bunch is something else."

"It feels like a family," Kara said softly.

Sam smiled. "I know what you mean. I actually feel kinda bad lying to them."

"It's not like we could tell the truth," Kara half chuckled.

"I know. Imagine telling them that you grew up halfway across the Galaxy," Sam laughed.

Kara giggled and added, "Or that you re a two-thousand year old man from Earth that was. They both started laughing. They would probably think we re nuttier than River is."

Kara sobered up and said seriously," We are going to have to tell him about the baby though, because in about a month, its going to be obvious."

"I know, but Mal doesn't seem to be the type to throw us off because of it. I suppose we could always lie and say we didn't know until we got here if he really blows a gasket," Sam replied.

"I hope we can stay. It's good to have a family around if we re going to have a baby," Kara declared.

Sam kissed her and said, "We re gonna be a family. You, me, and this baby. That s the only thing that matters".

Kara turned so they were face to face and kissed him. It was awhile before either of them spoke again


End file.
